


Through the Fog

by TriassicParker



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Airbending, Buddhism, Decisions, Flying bison, Found Family, Gen, Identity, Meditation, Mentors, Metaphors, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Waterbending, change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27029656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriassicParker/pseuds/TriassicParker
Summary: Ukungu was raised in an air temple, learning the ways of the air nomads; enlightenment, inner peace, harmony. They were a late bloomer; not showing signs of bending until much later than usual. When Ukungu did influence the elements, it was water. they were, unexpectedly, a water bender.After rigorous meditation and discussions with the temple monks, Ukungu made a decision. They left the air temple to discover their family and learn how to bend water. Along the way, they discover more about themselves, their place in the world, and how their upbringing is so different from their identity.
Kudos: 1





	Through the Fog

Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. They kept to themselves, building their separate cultures, traditions, and bending techniques. 

The water benders were adaptable; their bending flourishing with the love and the cycles of the moon. 

The earth benders were diverse and strong, with connections deep beneath the surface. 

The fire benders were stoic, proud people; their bending was full of energy, learned from dragons. 

The air benders were free, the air passed through them, connecting them to the spirit world. 

The Avatar, master of all four elements, was one of the few who traversed these cultures and kept the peace between them; the balance throughout the world.  
But this is not the story of an Avatar, this is the story of Ukungu. This is a story of identity, growth, and how the way you were raised doesn’t always reflect who you are. 

* * *

The air nomads, a spiritual nation split over four temples, were master's of peace and the skies. With their flying bison, they travelled through the nations, to their temples in the four corners of the world, and to the capitals of each nation, sharing in cups to retain peace. 

Two nuns from the Eastern Air Temple were on their way to meet the Earth King in Ba Sing Se. The rains had been heavy this past year, the rivers had burst over their banks all across the Earth Kingdom. Crossing the vast landscape, and the new waterways, they find a small bundle, floating down a creek.The nuns sense something has gone wrong. One, Yangtso, feels the spirits pulling her towards the bundle. 

“Yip yip!” Commanded Yangtso, her bison floated down to the ground. The creek is shallow, she is able to walk across the stream towards it. On the ground, she finds it is a strange boat. As she nears it, wading to her knees, the damage to the boat becomes apparent. Grasping a shattered edge, she peers within the boat, the air billows around her as she sees… a child. 

Wrapped in a cloth a child is asleep. Upon their dark cheek lies two new scratches, cut deep across their face. Why would a child be alone? Why are they injured? Where is their guardian? So many thoughts flitted through Yangtso’s mind, she reached for the child picking them up gently in her arms. They were cold, despite the warmth of the Earth Kingdom spring. She held the child close, peering once more into the strange boat. A small wooden figure of an animal laid beside some blood splatters, and a pile of fabrics. Yangtso collected up the fabrics and doll, carefully taking them back to her bison. 

“Samten, what do we do?” Yangtso asked of her mentor. Samten was an elder of the Eastern Air Temple, who had faced many crossroads and challenges through her time. 

“I need to continue on to Ba Sing Se.” She announced after several moments of thought. “You, Yangtso, must choose your own path.” 

Yangtso nodded. The purpose of her going to Ba Sing Se was to further her cultural understanding, to grow as a nun of the Eastern Temple. To no longer rely upon her mentor.

She looked down at the child, wrapped up in cloths from the boat. They still had not made a sound, even through the cleaning of their wound.

“I will travel along the creek to find a village upstream. I’ll ask about the child until I find their guardians.” Yangtso decided, determined. 

Samten nodded, not approvingly, but thoughtfully. Unsure of the path Yangtso was about to take. 

The nuns bid each other farewell. Samten travelled north towards Ba Sing Se, flying high into the air currents with her bison. Yangtso waited on the bank of the creek, also unsure of the path she was about to take. 

Yangsto spun balls of air on her fingertips, a childish fidget she’d never been able to discard. 

Yangtso meditated for a moment, reaching out to the spiritual guides who had drawn her to the child. She found no solace. Calming her thoughts, she returned her mind to the child. Their skin was a rich brown, the colour of tree bark, of the earth. Their wooden toy seemed to be crafted in the form of… a yak? 

Yangtso collected her child, carefully placing them upon her bison. They were to head westward, along the stream. Her bison complained of flying low, wishing to be high above the clouds. But she listened to the nun. 

Arriving at the first village along the stream, Yangtso disembarked her Bison, and entered the town, holding the quiet baby close to her chest. She entered the first building, a stone shelter that smelt of fresh vegetables. 

“Sorry, ma’am, I don’t know of any missing children.” The grocer replied. “The bear figurine is very strange, not from these parts.”

He directed her to the village chief, who was much of the same. “I don’t recognise the leopard figure nor that child.” He spoke for a while of how he knew everyone in his village. 

The docks were her last chance, “We saw that boat earlier, seemed empty. Came from up steam.”

Every person she asked knew of no one missing, and didn’t recognise the child or the yak… leopard… bear. She returned to the bison with the child, and continued up stream. She continued for several villages, asking the people, more earnestly each time. Are you sure you don’t know anything? You don’t know of a village who makes wooden carvings and strange boats? Do you recognise this child? 

No one had answers for the nun. The other towns upstream had all been vacated due to the flooding. Yangtsu needed to find a new path. She sat beside her bison, focusing on her breathing using techniques taught to her by Avatar Yangchen. 

_Breathing in, I am thankful for the fluid in this body; mucus, saliva, my blood. I am aware of the water element within this body. Breathing out, I smile to the water element in this body._

_Breathing in, I am thankful for the earth in this body. I am aware of the earth element in this body; the soil that produced the food I eat. the minerals that sustain this body. Breathing out, I smile to the earth element in this body._

_Breathing in, I am thankful for the warmth of this body. I am aware of the fire element in my body, making life possible. Breathing out, I smile to the fire element in this body._

_Breathing in, I am aware of the air entering this body. The breaths that sustains every part of this body. Breathing out, I smile to the air element in this body._

She had made a decision. She bundled the child again, worried about their warmth. She boarded her bison, and moved eastward, back home towards the Eastern Air Temple. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the prologue of a hopeful collection of chapters. I haven't watched Avatar for a few years, but I was inspired by a picrews to create Ukungu. Enjoy!


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